Dear. St. Andrew's Families, My 6-year old son’s piano teacher asked him yesterday what happens when he practices. “I get better,” he said without he

NoxontownNews 20140207

Dear. St. Andrew's Families,

My 6-year old son’s piano teacher asked him yesterday what happens when he practices. “I get better,” he said without hesitation. I admit I’ve been a bit of a Tiger Mom with him since he started lessons, but there’s no denying the results. “Hot-Crossed Buns” gave way to “Old McDonald” in short order, and he’s set his sights on Yuja Wang by 2034. He is quick to point out that she started when she was 6-years old as well.

Harvey Johnson introduced me to Carol Dweck’s concept of a growth mindset several years ago. People with growth mindsets understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. Everyone can get better at anything if they work at it.

I sat behind Alex McIlvaine '14 on Tuesday night and listened to him provide color commentary for the livestream of the boys’ basketball game. The regular season, out-of-conference game had little consequence, but he charged ahead as if he were working the NBA Finals for TNT. I asked Alex the next day how much better he is covering the games now than at the beginning of the season. “A lot,” he said, indicating how obvious and boring my question was.

My office sits directly over what can only be described as the rock and roll practice room in the O’Brien Arts Center. Each afternoon, Nathan Koski-Vacirca '16 serenades me with loud and ruthless rhythms on the drums. He pounds away, day after day. When you see him at Arts Weekend with the Jazz Ensemble, try to remember that he’s put in about 300 hours of practice during the year leading up to that 30-minute performance.

Thirty-six swimmers set personal marks during the DISC Championships last weekend en route to both the girls and boys sweeping the team championships for the first time since 2002. Ask any one of them what practices were like this winter.

Our days here are filled with the kind of effort, practice, teaching, and persistence needed to leave each day a little better than we were the day before. Sometimes, progress can be painfully pedestrian (as this amateur writer can attest), but the faith remains and the practice continues.

Go Saints,
Will Robinson '97
Communications

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In the Classroom

While much of the world watched last night's Olympic snowboarding competition for the athletes' incredible acrobatic aerials, Mark Hammond had his AS Physics students analyze how the athletes use friction and arm movements to increase their translational and rotational momentum.

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Jay Hutchinson's Call to Serve class hosted New Castle County's Habitat for Humanity CEO Kevin Smith this week. Smith discussed Habitat's work and led a discussion on the causes and possible ways to address systemic poverty. The class will travel to Wilmington next Thursday to help build seven Habitat homes.

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The remnants of a critique session from Music Theory I students remain on a white board in the O'Brien Arts Center. Students listened to each others compositions inspired by the chord diagram that Crump lecturer Stephon Alexander described in his TED talk on the relationship between John Coltrane's tri-tone substitutions and quantum gravity modelling.

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GO SAINTS!

Coach Bill Wallace brought his sabbatical experience coaching with the Bates College and Auburn University swim teams back to the aquatic center this winter. The results include the first DISC Championship for the girls since 2002 and the boys defending their title by a 22-point margin over second place Tower Hill. They'll continue to train with an eye toward States later this month.

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The boys and girls squash teams are in Philadelphia today and tomorrow for the 2014 U.S. High School Team Squash Championships. It's the world's largest squash tournament with more than 1,400 players competing across six divisions.

We owe a special thanks to coaches Sara O'Connor and Chris Childers for their dedication all season long, for the constant presence of former U.S. National Coach Richard Millman, and to the many parents who support the program.

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The St. Andrew's Sports Network will broadcast tonight's varsity boys basketball game on our livestream channel starting at 6:00 p.m. The students are planning a "white out" as the team faces off against New Jersey's Marist High.

Tomorrow, St. Andrew's will host the DISC Wrestling Championships in the Sipprelle Field House. Charlie Taylor '14 leads the team at 120lbs. with a 17-4 record (below) alongside defending DISC Championship MVP Ben Cobb '15 at 138lbs with a 15-3 record. You don't want to mess with these guys.

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Celebrating Black History Month

Jaryd Jones '17 asked his fellow students at School Meeting this week to join him in celebrating Black History Month. He challenged them to spend 5-10 minutes researching and writing a short bio on an African-American who made a significant impact on the world.

Jaryd will compile and share the bios in the coming days.

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Summer Opportunities Fair

The Modern Languages Department hosted the Annual Summer Opportunities Fair in the Main Common Room on Wednesday. Students met with representatives from several companies to learn about service trip opportunities abroad.

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Sunday Brunch

Sundays after chapel are prime meeting times for clubs and organizations. The League of Extraordinary Conservatives (immediately below) meet every Sunday to talk about current events while the Debate Team (farther below) meets across the hall preparing for their upcoming competition at the University of Pennsylvania where they'll debate the Voting Rights Act.

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A St. Andrew's Moment

Students gather for a Headmaster's Forum to discuss corruption, terrorism, civil rights, and humanitarian concerns around the Sochi Olympics.

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Happy Chinese New Year!

ChiaChyi Chiu celebrated the Chinese New Year with Chinese II students and students from China at her home last week. ChiaChyi is famous for her dedication, generosity, and ability to feed hordes of students with traditional Chinese meals.

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Upcoming Event Calendar

February 8 — DISC Wrestling Championships (Home)
February 8 — Semi-Formal
February 9 — SAISL Tournament
February 9 — Choral Scholars Evensong, National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.
February 12 — IV Form trip to National Holocaust Museum
February 14 & 15 — Winter Play
February 21 & 22 — Winter Musical
February 28 — Student Art Show, Warner Gallery

The 2014-2015 Calendar is now available by clicking here.

Full School CalendarAthletics Calendar

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